Primary Function
by Vampcoffee
Summary: A rogue spacer and his sentient droid partner are in for the biggest score of their lives. What will become of their riches?
1. Chapter 1

The _Cobalt-13_, a light freighter of Corellian make, streaked through the Arkanis sector on course for a sandy, orange planet. The fiery light of twin suns shone through the viewports of the bluish, disc-shaped shuttle, painting the industrial interior with various hues of white and gold. A human male and his droid ally occupied the main hold of the _Cobalt_, OA-09 seated at the ships controls while Naatzul Vash, free-thinking fighter and rogue, opened one of the lockers along the wall. He removed a pair of blaster pistols from the locker and loaded them before holstering them on either side of his belt.

"O'nine, gimme a one-two," he said over his shoulder.

"We're on course," the Operant Adviser replied while directing the freighter through Tatooine's upper atmosphere. "We will be landing soon."

Naatzul slung an auto rifle onto his back. "Where's the loot on this dirt rock?"

"Tracking..." O'nine vocalized, multitasking between landing the ship and finding their target. "Three kilometers from destination."

"Damn!" Naatzul ran over to the display to check the reading himself. "Reinforcements will be on us in no time," he growled.

OA-09 swiveled his head to look at his master. "You're not aborting, are you?"

Naatzul scoffed and clipped a string of thermal detonators to his chest. "Hell no!"

OA-09 returned to the controls and positioned the _Cobalt-13_, landing the freighter directly in front of an Imperial transport. The vehicle ground to a halt, treads digging into the soft ground of the desert planet and kicking up red sand.

"You ready?" Naatzul asked while pressing the switch to deploy the loading ramp.

"I was built ready," O'nine replied. He stood from the pilots chair and walked to the weapons locker.

Naatzul stepped down onto the loading ramp and readied his weapon as stormtroopers dismounted to oppose them.

"When I charge out I'm going to zap their captain first," the human informed his droid partner.

OA-09 glared at Naatzul. "You mean when _we_ charge out."

Naatzul shook his head. "I need you on the bird in case we need to burn sky."

O'nine, previously going for an auto rifle of his own, picked up a sniper rifle instead. He took the long-barreled weapon into his metallic hands and crouched on the ramp of the _Cobalt-13_, giving him ample view of the Imperial armor without being exposed. Naatzul tossed a detonator at the shuttle and then fired on the stormtroopers in front of him, shooting down two clone soldiers before an explosion tore through the front of the shuttle. Both the driver and captain perished in the blast and Naatzul quickly ran around to the back of the vehicle.

The occassional sniper shot from O'nine kept the stormtroopers at bay while Naatzul used an arc cutter to slice through the armor and get to the treasure inside. Upwards of a dozen silvery chests glittered within, each one containing a pile of valuable crystals. Naatzul switched to his pistol then grabbed a chest with his free hand. OA-09 saw Naatzul come into view and swiftly angled to put a bolt through a stormtrooper's head before moving to pick up the chest.

Naatzul ran off to steal a second chest as O'nine hauled the first aboard the _Cobalt_. The screech of speeders sounded in the distance and O'nine looked through the viewport to see two scout troopers coming for them at blistering speed, no doubt deployed from the outpost not far from their location.

"Scouts!" OA-09 vocalized at an increased volume.

Naatzul brought another chest to the foot of the ramp. "Just one more," he said.

The human turned to run as O'nine pulled the chest on board and the scouts raced into range. They leaped from their bikes and aimed at Naatzul as he brought the third chest to the ship. Two piercing shots rang out and Naatzul lurched forward, shot through the back.

"Naaztul!" O'nine dropped his rifle and ran to his master as wisps of smoke rose from the scorched holes in his back.

Naatzul Vash turned over to look at his droid, a weak smile on his face. "O'nine... you were with me... 'til the end."

"This is not the end!" O'nine shouted at maximum audio output.

"Take the ship, you're free." Naatzul uttered, ignoring O'nine's protest. "You always were..."

Naatzul's body became still and OA-09 clenched his fists. He glared down the ramp and tore two thermal detonators from Naatzul's belt. With a toss the explosives sailed down to the sandy earth and destroyed the two scouts, their bikes, and the remaining troopers. O'nine slammed on the switch to retract the loading ramp then slumped in the seat in front of the _Cobalt-13's_ controls. With a few flicks the ship lifted from the ground and flew into the sky. Several moments passed and O'nine was in space again before he looked back at Naatzul.

Naatzul's body lay dead at the back of the main hold along with the three chests he had died stealing. His visual sensors lingered on the body of his former owner and O'nine was overtaken by a sudden surge of uncertainty and confusion. What was he supposed to do next? Naatzul could no longer direct him. How did free beings behave? O'nine acted with free will often but it was always in the context of assisting Naatzul in some way. To truly be held to nothing but his own desires was a shock O'nine was not quite ready for.

Organics had a wide range of customs in regards to bodies and the dead. O'nine processed about what Naatzul would want upon his untimely death. Despite being a spacer and smuggler, Naatzul still had a decent relationship with his parents. He would call them from time to time and go on about sentiments that OA-09 would never understand.

"They live on Alderaan..." O'nine vocalized to himself.

He could take Naatzul's body to his parents. OA-09's internal regulators deemed that to the best course of action to take from this point. O'nine put Alderaan into the navigation system of the _Cobalt-13_ then moved the three chests to the storage room. Once done, he returned to the pilot chair and folded his arms; there was nothing to do now but wait.

The _Cobalt-13 _lowered on the balcony landing area outside of a pearly tower in the valley of a mountainous region. O'nine stood from the controls and walked to the loading ramp where he pressed the switch and dismounted. A servant stepped out from the grand house and crossed the polished landing to meet the ship.

"Identify yourself," the serviceman demanded, confusion taking his face at the sight of a droid.

"Ninth series Operant Adviser, ADN: 47813" Even if O'nine's face could move, he be still be void of expression in this moment. "I seek the Nobles Vash."

After a brief verifying of O'nine's information, the guard looked up. "To what end?"

"Their son is dead."

The guard blinked and then turned on his heels to head back inside. O'nine returned to the _Cobalt_ to retrieve Naatzul's body. He took the limp form in both arms and walked down the ramp as Mister and Misses Vash came out of their home. The wife raised a hand to her mouth in disbelief but Naatzul's father hardly reacted. Their eyes locked on O'nine and did not waiver. Once within only a few feet of the parents he lowered the body to the ground before them and removed the first few wraps around Naatzul's head. His mother shrieked and his father frowned before pulling out a communicator. O'nine watched Naatzul's mother kneel over her son's body.

"How did this happen?" she wailed.

If O'nine were to become nonfunctional, there would be no mourning. There wasn't even a creator that had built him personally and would care for his well-being as an organic parent might. OA-09 was a machine built by machines. The only being that ever cared about him was dead.

"Imperial scouts," O'nine said to the weeping mother.

She looked up at him, tears spilling down her face.

"Come inside, dear." Mister Vash called to his wife. He pointed at O'nine. "You stay there."

O'nine titled his head as the wife left them. "Excuse me?"

"My engineer is on his way," Mister Vash explained. "You will be repaired, wiped, and auctioned, as will that ship."

"I am free and the ship is mine," OA-09 said.

"Do not claim what is not yours," Mister Vash said and O'nine felt gears grinding in the base of head.

"Those are the words of your son," O'nine clarified.

Naatzul's father shrugged. "He's dead," he said coldly with his son lying still at his feet. "You belong to me."

O'nine took a step backward. He was a droid and yet between him and Naatzul's father only one of them seemed to be moved by Naatzul's death.

O'nine turned his left to see an Imperial transport settle on the landing platform. A pair of officers stepped out of the vehicle and by their uniforms he gathered that they were medical personnel. OA-09 assumed they were coming to handle the body but they were still Imperials. If O'nine could sneer at them would have. Instead he turned and started walking back to the _Cobalt._

"Droid, stop!"

O'nine didn't bother looking back to see who said that. Clearly Naatzul's father had no respect for the will of his son, which meant he also would not honor O'nine's freedom. A blaster clicked behind him and O'nine's self preservation protocol urged him to sprint the remaining distance to the _Cobalt-13. _He cleared the loading ramp in a few long strides and pressed the switch for the slope to retract into the ship. Soon after, the automaton dropped into the pilot's chair and typed on the freighter's controls. O'nine did not set a final destination, his only input told the ship to leave the immediate area. The _Cobalt_ hovered upward away from the landing and angled for the sky before blasting into space, a trail of blue in its wake.

Not many droids owned themselves. This was especially true of the Outer Rim, where Imperial regulations decayed into nonexistence. Such was the bitter reality of the Empire. It was official in a way that was useful for individuals that had their affairs in order. On the other hand even an unscrewed bolt could engender fierce oppression. O'nine did not have the documents of his manufacture and stormtroopers liked to put boots to necks, even when dealing with droids. A free droid would fare better in the Outer Rim, where laws were more lax.

O'nine looked at the navigation of his ship and scrolled over to the sector of the galaxy he desired. The Deralia system caught his sensors, especially the moon of Aderalis. O'nine set his course for that location even though he had never been there before. Or maybe that was precisely what caught his attention; new beginnings and opportunities. He had no idea what was on Aderalis but one thing was certain, the Empire wouldn't be. Of course in the absence of the Empire there was guaranteed to be plenty of criminals, hunters, and other scum.

The _Cobalt-13 _lowered down through the smoggy atmosphere of Aderalis, space lanes crisscrossing above grungy skyscrapers. Usually the lower levels of a city-planet were unclean while the upper level was polished but the entirety of this station was covered in grime.

"This place needs an oil bath," O'nine while looking out at the area. He directed the _Cobalt _down to a vacant lot and stood from the controls. The same could be said of O'nine himself. Naaztul had given him an oil bath soon after they first met, but since then, years of grit had gathered on his wells and outer coverings.

Most would fear the pirates, hunters and other villains that occupied moons such as this yet O'nine found them to be preferable to the Empire. The Empire regularly fought in force, no less than than a squad of four troopers. Hunters and pirates often operated solo or perhaps with a partner; these evildoers were possibly more fair and honest than the fearsome regime of the Empire. O'nine had traveled with a rogue spacer long enough to know how they worked and had a few tricks of his own as well.

O'nine armed himself with a blaster and an auto rifle before leaving the ship. Most organics would never dream of letting a droid have a weapon. That's because most organics saw droids purely as servants. O'nine's programming registered Naatzul as his master but their actual relationship was nothing like that. It was fortunate for O'nine that he had so much experience acting on his own; such opportunities would make him better suited for a life that was truly his own.

O'nine met with a Sullustan in a jumpsuit after stepping off his ship. The short, thick-jowled humanoid walked down the line of landing platforms at a brisk pace with a datapad in hand and stopped in front of the _Cobalt-13_.

"Is your owner still on the ship?" the organic asked.

O'nine's steely blue sensors scanned the dock worker. "I am my owner."

"What?" the worker tilted his head. "What is that ship doing there?"

O'nine walked past the worker. "It's a landing pad. I landed."

"But it's not _your _landing pad!" the Sullustan said.

"It doesn't belong to anyone," OA-09 vocalized over his shoulder.

"There's a schedule!" the dock worker insisted. "Grallsin, captain of the Vyssrr, is landing here in a few moments!"

"Tell him I'm in the bar."


	2. Chapter 2

OA-09 left the landing area and the dock worker to head for the bar he mentioned. A neon sign glowed on the side of a cantina with a pair hulking Gammorean bouncers at the front. Some establishments were fickle about droids coming in but OA-09 approached anyway. Droids couldn't drink, but that was not to say it was impossible for them to impair their functionality pure for entertainment and recreation.

Fortunately Gamorreans were not the smartest of organic species. O'nine entered the cantina and his bluish sensors scanned patrons through the dim light. He was not connected to any databases, but there was still facial analyzing that would help O'nine read people. A few stray looks came his way as he walked to the bar. His metal elbow clanked on the counter when he leaned forward.

"Two death sticks," he said.

O'nine paid a few credits to the bartender and picked up the death sticks along with a curious glance. He left the bar and walked over to a booth, away from the majority of the customers. Seedy plots and threatening whispers filled the cantina but OA-09 was not interested in that. O'nine did not smoke in the traditional sense but death sticks did have a certain usefulness.

He lit one of them and placed its smoldering tip against the base of his neck. A slight heat against the right wire caused O'nine's systems to glitch. False displays flooded his sensors and his servos relaxed. The embers of a death stick weren't hot enough to cause significant damage and usually O'nine's software would right itself with time. The smoke had become a recognized odor to his chemograph to the point of creating a feedback loop in his programming, reinforcing this less-than-optimizal behavior.

The hiss of melted heat shrouding was another of these triggers. Data and calculations that once streamed through his core at lightspeed now trudged along like the heavy footfalls of a dewback. With processor at ease, O'nine laid back in the booth and processed nothing of any importance.

Shortly after achieving this state of grim euphoria, a thuggish, green-scaled Trandoshan stepped up to where O'nine was sitting. A stylized 'V' symbol marked the red, scarred armor he wore, suggesting he was more than a random rogue or pirate. Clothing said much about the role and occupations of organics. Human-like droids also had defining elements on their form, although it took more of a trained eye to spot.

"You, droid," the lizard-like humanoid hissed. "You must be new here."

O'nine shrugged. "So what if I am?"

"You're parked on Vyssrr territory," the Trandoshan said with a hand on his belt. "This interferes with certain... operations."

O'nine rolled his head to look at the organic. "You're gonna shoot me over a parking spot?"

The reptile snarled and grabbed O'nine from the booth. "I'm going to cut you and scrap you, droid," he said while drawing his vibroblade. "Then I'll take your ship, paint it red, and add it to the fleet!"

O'nine reached for the blaster at his waist. "Have fun."

He fired into the lizard's stomach in the middle of them grappling. O'nine tumbled out of his seat and the Trandoshan fell holding a scorched and bloody hole in his gut. The lizard hissed again and lunged with his blade, one reptilian hand pressing O'nines head into the floor while the other stabbed the charged knife into the droid's prone form.

Hot sparks erupted from OA-09's chest. O'nine urgently angled his blaster again and fired as the virbroblade sawed through his internal shielding. The Trandoshan growled, a rasping and desperate sound that ended when O'nine shot the mercenary a third time. The lizard fell dead and O'nine pulled himself from under the limp corpse, cautiously removing the vibroblade, still whirring, from his chest. O'nine dropped the knife and wiped traces of violet blood from his outer plating.

Patrons in the cantina had paused when the first shot rang out before going back to their own affairs, whispering lowly. O'nine wished to go back to his previous activity as well but there was apparently an issue involving mercenaries and his ship. Clearly this Trandoshan was not acting along with the mention of a fleet and a group. O'nine had never heard of 'Vyssrr' but his first assumption was mercenaries, pirates, or the like.

He picked up his last death stick and exited the bar. Back at the landing area, O'nine saw three Trandoshan mercenaries wearing armor similar to the armor worn by his attacker in the cantina, one of them with a reddish crest of bone at the top of his head. At a distance they seemed to be arguing with the dock worker and a Rodian merchant. Beside the Rodian was a young human female wearing a sling bikini and a pair of shorts.

Before O'nine was close enough to tell why, the lizard with the red crest, their apparent leader, drew a jagged sword and cut the worker across the neck. As the Sullustan fell to his knees and clutched his bleeding neck, the mercenary leader aimed his bloody sword at the Rodian. The Rodian put his hands up and backed away then gestured as if to offer the human in his place. O'nine approached and passed the Rodian as he ran away from the confrontation, his wide, spherical, eyes even wider with mortal fear.

"Get on your knees," O'nine heard the leader say once within audio range.

He watched the human girl kneel in front of the reptile as he walked to his ship. The mercenary captain grabbed the back of the human's head and pushed her face against his crotch. O'nine paused at that. Just as his curiosity became something more, the leader turned to see him.

"You!" The crested lizard pointed with his sword. "You're supposed to be dead."

"You must be Grallsin," O'nine said. "Tell your guys to use guns."

The leader hissed laughter. "A blaster cannot skin the enemy alive!"

O'nine shrugged. "Well, you can't skin a droid anyway."

"You think you're funny, droid?" the mercenary growled. "No one taunts the Vyssrr and lives."

With a gesture, the leader sent his two followers to attack O'nine. "Kill it!"

They both drew long vibroblades that buzzed with power as they approached. O'nine trained his repeater on one of the attackers and fired twice, targeting code placing a burst of shots through the head of his enemy. The other lizard closed distance with shocking speed and slashed. O'nine dodged backward, the tip of the blade narrowly cutting a scratch down the center of his face plate. O'nine ducked beneath a second swing of the sword before striking with the back of his rifle. A crack sounded and the mercenary fell with a grisly, bloody fracture across his nose. Onine angled his weapon to fire down at the enemy, finishing him, before aiming down range at the leader who was with the girl.

"So you're a slaver?"O'nine said to the leader as he walked forward.

Grallsin pushed the girl away and drew his own vibrosword. "My work is not your concern," he hissed.

O'nine shot at the leader only for his shots to be deflected. Grallsin angled his sword to protect himself then stabbed at OA-09. O'nine twisted and the vibroblade cut into his shoulder as he swept his rifle, firing a string of bolts that caught the Trandoshan in the legs.

Grallsin fell to his knees and O'nine drove the heel of his metal foot into the Trandoshan's face. Grallsin fell to the paved ground and O'nine put the auto rifle on his back before he walked over to the human.

The girl looked up in shock. "What are you doing?" she gasped.

"Saving you?" O'nine said while offering his hand to help her up. "Unless you'd prefer to-" As she stood O'nine noticed illuminated rings in her eyes. She wasn't human or even organic at all. "You're a droid."

"Yes." She wiped synthetic saliva from her mouth. "...and pleasure is my primary function."

If O'nine had a mouth, it would have gaped at this moment. "You 'pleasure' shitty Trandoshan pirates?"

The girl blinked. "Many forms of being purchase my service."

To their left, the mercenary leader stirred, reaching for his sword and climbing to his feet.

"Time to go." O'nine grabbed fem-droid's hand and ran for his ship.

The human-like droid stumbled after him, staring back at the crested lizard. "Wait, I must fulfill the transaction!"

"Nah, your coming with me," O'nine said while Grallsin gave a wounded limp after them, snarling all the while.

O'nine walked up the ramp to the _Cobalt_ and pulled the girl along before closing the ramp behind him. From the veiwport O'nine saw Grallsin hobble up to the ship just to watch it take off. The lizard threw his sword into the ground and roared.

"Who will I please instead?" the girl said. "You?"

"What? No." O'nine said while taking the rifle off his back. He walked over to sit in front of the controls while the girl just stood in the corner of the ship.

"You wanna sit down?" he offered after punching in a direction for the ship.

The girl looked at him silently for a moment then joined him in the co-pilot seat a few feet away.

O'nine leaned back in the pilot chair while the girl across him sat oddly rigid. "I'm a ninth series Operant Adviser," he said into the silence. "Call me 'O'nine'."

The girl stared ahead blankly. "I am a Versatile Xenophilic Entity, series sixty-six."

"Sixty-six?" O'nine whistled. "That must be a popular model."

He looked at her. While O'nine was an asexual droid with male-biased programming, Vixen was designed to be a submissive female in all cases. Looking closely into her eyes had given it away but everything else about her was extremely life-like.

She was likely modeled after a real human woman, her face especially was one of uncanny perfection. Her olive skin and shapely figure were both mere constructs of synthskin and biofiber. Her lustrous black hair was ultimately artificial yet, being a droid model in its sixty-sixth series, she was highly in demand. O'nine couldn't help but to be intrigued.

"So what's your name?" he asked.

"VXN-66."

"That's your model and series," O'nine corrected. "What do people call you?"

"VXN-66."

"So you don't have a nickname or anything?"

"I am a human replica droid," the fem-droid said.

O'nine shook his head. "I'll just call you 'Vixen'."

Finally, Vixen turned to him slowly and asked, "Why did you kill my clients?"

"They tried to kill me first," O'nine said. "Also, I thought you were a slave girl, not a sexbot."

Immediately after saying that a question came to mind: which one was worse? Or were they equally deplorable? At least a fem-droid was built for so a purpose and such was their main reason for existing in the first place. An organic slave girl would have a family and friends as well as her own hopes and dream that would all be crushed upon being sold into slavery.

"Will you return me to my owner?"

"Is that what you want?" O'nine asked. "To be sold for sex?"

"It is what Master wants," Vixen said. "He will deactivate me if I am missing for more than a standard cycle."

O'nine waved his hand. "We can work around that."

"But pleasure is my primary function," Vixen said.

"Do you enjoy it?" O'nine said.

"Do I... enjoy it?" Vixen repeated slowly. She looked over to O'nine. "I do not understand."

"Counseling was _my_ primary function," O'nine said. "But I was freed. You can do that too."

"If I do not fulfill my designed purpose..." Vixen pondered. "What would I become?"

O'nine nodded. "Your own person."


	3. Chapter 3

It was obvious from her question that the wheels were turning in her head. What would it mean to break from what she was built to do? O'nine had also been confused by the idea of abandoning his core programming. However, with the help of a certain reckless spacer he was able to gain free will and explore what it was that he truly wanted. Splicing in some stolen code from combat droids didn't hurt either.

Of course, Vixen had not gone through any of those transforming steps. Not only that but she seemed to be if not satisfied at least partly content with being routinely sold to random beings for sex and returned like a low-rate speeder rental. If she had no opposition to such an existence, O'nine had no right to try and give her something better. In the end, perhaps it was best to return her to her dealer.

"Where does your owner live?" he asked.

"The northern end of Izmalay's coast on Deralia," Vixen said.

O'nine turned to the controls. "Let's pay him a visit."

The _Cobalt-13 _spun away from the moon of Aderalis and headed for the planet to which it belonged: Deralia. Upon reaching Izmalay's coast, O'nine looked down at the landscape ahead to see sandy shores, crystal blue water, and lush greenery further inland. O'nine's sensors lingered of the scenery as the ship landed, soaking in its beauty.

"There," Vixen said while pointing to a strip of huts on the edge of the shore.

O'nine stood and pulled on his rifle and blaster once more after landing the _Cobalt_ on the golden sand. He deployed the _Cobalt's _boarding ramp and Vixen followed him out of the ship and down to the beach. O'nine waited for her at the foot of the ramp.

"This way," she said.

Vixen walked ahead of O'nine and he followed her away from the ocean and toward the small houses resting along the shore. O'nine searched the landscape as he walked, his clunky machine feet sinking into the sand. There were no other ships on the beach besides the _Cobalt-13_; he wondered if anyone would be home. Vixen approached one of the island huts and stopped just outside the tarp entrance.

"Master, are you there?" she asked.

O'nine walked past her and ducked under the tarp. On the outside, the structure was just a hut of wood and leaves but the inside had glossy metallic walls with shelves lined with mechanical parts and instruments. O'nine saw a pair of sensors oddly similar to his own staring blankly back at him. His spinal column stiffened.

Vixen entered the hut as well. "Master does not take kindly to uninvited visitors."

"Doesn't look like he's here," O'nine said while walking further into the workshop. "Did he build you, Vixen?"

Vixen shook her head. "No, he restored me," she said. "My previous owner left me in a scrapyard."

O'nine came to a table where a skeletal machine frame laid among an assortment of components. They were divided into two piles, one for software such as sensors, data chips and code graphers and another for hardward such as gears, valves, servos and such. "So that's what these parts are for," he said.

"He buys and sells primarily droids and droid parts," Vixen said.

O'nine turned to look at her. "And the services of his droids."

Vixen clasped her hands. "Yes, that as well."

O'nine looked back at the half-built droid on the metal table. It was a droid more like himself as opposed to Vixen; the tall framework and broad shoulders suggested a worker or fighter droid. When matched with the stack of auto rifles resting in the corner of the shop the concept of a combat droid seemed the more likely.

As OA-09 had said to Vixen, he was not built for combat but he did have several combat oriented upgrades and modifications. Was a pure battle droid more deadly than one that could only emulate combat strategy? If his adventures with Naatzul were any evidence, O'nine could hold his own.

O'nine heard a ship landing outside of the shop and could tell by the pitch that it was a smaller vehicle. He left the table just as the Rodian from Aderalis entered. The eyes of a Rodian were pure black orbs; there was no way of knowing where he was looking.

"Master," Vixen said.

"VXN," the droid trader said before turning to O'nine. "You, what are you doing here?"

"I assume that deal didn't go as expected," OA-09 responded.

"No, it did not." The Rodian sighed. "I should thank you for bringing her back," he said while offering his hand. "I am Squillo, droidsmith."

"O'nine." OA-09 shook the Rodian's hand. "You're welcome," he said. "...but I'd like her to come with me."

The antennae twitched atop the Squillo's head. "What use would you have for a droid such as her?"

It was true O'nine would not be buying her for the reason that most would. Vixen looked at him as well, a puzzle on her face but silent nonetheless. Based on what OA-09 had observed so far, Vixen's whole existence had been focused on the pleasure of others. O'nine once had a similarly confining set of programs. She had likely never even once pursued her own pleasure and odds were she knew nothing of freedom. O'nine had the chance to show her those things just as Naatzul had shown him.

"I want to buy her," O'nine said after a long pause. "I have crystals to trade."

The merchant walked past O'nine and Vixen toward his work table. "What sort of crystals?"

"Imperial-grade Lignan."

Squillo looked at O'nine. "I will consider your offer, O'nine," he said while sitting to his table. "Show me what you have."

O'nine nodded and turned to head for the tarp. The crystals were still on the _Cobalt-13_ in the chests that Naatzul lifted from the Imperial convoy. Naatzul had died to steal them but he also risked his life to take O'nine on a journey he would have never experienced otherwise. It seemed fitting to spend his last haul on a similar purpose.

"Why would you buy me?" Vixen said.

O'nine looked back. "I want you to be free," he said before ducking under the tarp again.

Outside O'nine was met with the sunny gleam of the beach once more and his display flared in the excess light. He raised his hand to shield his sensors from the brightness until they were adjusted. Once his display corrected, O'nine lowered his hand to find a reddish shape in the orange-gold sky. It plummeted from orbit at a blistering pace, the front end of the ship wreathed in atmospheric flame. O'nine recognized the ship immediately.

"Grallsin."

OA-09 pulled the auto rifle off his back and aimed down sights as the Vyssrr ship descended rapidly. O'nine targeted a thruster on the underside of the vehicle and fired, a stream of of crimson bolts burning at the ship's hull. The thruster exploded and the ship shook, but O'nine continued to shoot at the transport as it landed, the ship skipping on the shore and kicking up a wake of sand in all directions.

O'nine fired until the rifle ran empty then ejected the spent energy magazine and snatched a new one from his belt. OA-09 glanced down at his weapon to secure the ammunition. When he looked back up, he saw the crested mercenary captain exiting his transport through the top hatch. O'nine pulled the trigger and Grallsin leaped from his ship. The Trandoshan pirate dove into a roll to dodge the droid's fire then stood and sprinted at OA-09 in a zigzag pattern.

O'nine ignored his targeting upgrade; his metal finger holding the trigger continuously in a raw effort to vaporize Grallsin. Grazes and scarce misses crossed the Trandoshan but he flung a charged knife at O'nine before any serious damage was done. The blade carved through the front end of O'nine's rifle and the weapon began to spark uselessly instead of launch energy. O'nine dropped the gun and whipped his hand back to his blaster as Grallsin charged him. The crested Trandoshan drew his vibrosword and slashed through O'nine's leg. O'nine fell to his knees and Grallsin grabbed the droid at his neck.

The lizard's lips curled and O'nine saw his fangs grinding against each other. O'nine reached again for his blaster as Grallsin lifted him into the air. He drew the pistol from its holster. Grallsin stabbed O'nine through the chest. The vibrating sword ran deep enough for a foot of blade to protrude from the droid's back and cut directly through O'nine's spinal column, severing the central command link between his processor and his lower extremities. A second later, his processor blinked off and Grallsin pulled his sword out of the limp droid before throwing him to the side.

Smoke rose from his broken form laying in the sand, sparks erupted from his sundered mainframe, and oil spilled from the shredded motors in his legs. As he lay failing, his core rebooted in a low-power emergency state. His processor flooded with errors and tried to mitigate the damage by shutting down lesser functions. The steady whir of his lubricant valve had become a coarse, irregular ticking. O'nine's video and audio functions returned at half-capacity and through darkened sensors he saw Grallsin sheathe his sword then head into the workshop. With his central command being reconfigured, all O'nine could do was stare blankly at the sky, unable to move, and listen.

"I've come collect," he heard Grallsin growl.

"No, I should have never done business with pirates," Squillo said. "The deal is over."

Grallsin hissed. "There was never a deal."

"Stop!" Squillo shouted followed by a crashing sound. "Aahh!"

O'nine still could not move while out-of-sight events happened beyond his control. Grallsin exited the workshop soon after, pulling Vixen by the arm. She stumbled behind the mercenary, not exactly resisting but not complying either. However, the sight of O'nine laying still in the sand made her stop.

"O'nine...," she called to him.

Grallsin hissed at her and pulled her away. He took her back to his ship and departed and O'nine watched the Vyssrr ship fly away. Finally his central command returned after the lengthy reconfiguring process. Everything below his mid-torso was still unresponsive but his arms and head could now move once again. O'nine pulled himself over onto his stomach and began crawling back to the workshop. He dragged himself along the beach, his robot hands clawing through the sand until he reached the tarp of Squillo's hut. O'nine pulled himself into the shop and found shelves knocked over, droid parts strewn about the floor, and Squillo bandaging a bloody gash in his upper arm.

"He attacked you as well?" the droidsmith said.

"Repair me," O'nine demanded, crawling. "I'm going after him."

"I can't." Squillo shook his head. "Not for free."

"You will be paid," O'nine assured.

O'nine pulled himself on the floor of the workshop while Squillo looked at him for a long time. Finally the trader walked over to his table and picked up the unfinished frame to place it on the floor. Afterward he returned to take OA-09 under the arms and pulled him onto the work surface. Once O'nine was on the table, Squillo picked up a magwrench to remove O'nine's face plate.

"Don't shut me down," O'nine uttered from his core.

"If you move my repairs won't be effective," Squillo said.

"I won't move."

Squillo paused before moving the magwrench to remove torso plate next. He unhinged all of the parts damaged by Grallsin's sword and replaced them with new ones. After that he refilled the lubricant valve, rewired the mainframe and spinal column, and filled in the holes in O'nine's chest and legs plates with a bit of molten durasteel.

"The heat shrouding in your neck has melted," Squillo said while putting O'nine back together again.

"Leave it," O'nine said.

Squillo placed the face plate back onto O'nine's head and screwed it on. OA-09 display lit up and his systems returned at full power. He sat upright and stepped down from the table, pleased with the feel of his new build.

"I noticed you have no restraining bolts," Squillo said while sorting his tools. "You're a free droid?"

O'nine closed his fist deliberately. "Yes, I am."


	4. Chapter 4

"Interesting," Squillo muttered. "I heard what you said to my human replica..."

O'nine looked at the droidsmith. "I will bring her back and trade you the crystals," he said. "Everything after that is between us."

Squillo only nodded. He sat down to his work table and O'nine exited the shop. The droid jogged on the beach until reaching the _Cobalt_ then boarded the ship. He took the pilot's chair and typed quickly on the controls. O'nine didn't know where Grallsin had gone after he left Deralia with Vixen. However, when OA-09 first landed on Aderalis, the dock worker knew Grallsin by name.

This combined with the reaction of the Vyssrr mercenary in the cantina led O'nine to assume that the Vyssrr were somewhat known in that area. O'nine figured it was likely that someone on Aderalis knew where the Vyssrr operated from. O'nine input the coordinates for Aderalis and the _Cobalt-13 _lifted into the sky before blasting off, headed back to the moon.

While the ship proceeded on the designated course, O'nine walked to the weapons locker and found it to be oddly empty. Naatzul's auto rifle and blasters were gone and O'nine had just lost the second auto rifle in the fight with Grallsin. All that remained was the blaster currently on O'nine's waist, three thermal detonators and the two specialty weapons hanging in the locker: a scatter gun and a sniper rifle. O'nine scanned the weapons then closed the locker as the _Cobalt _lowered onto a landing pad. He didn't anticipate any fighting on this trip, he was just looking for information.

O'nine landed on Aderalis and quickly left his ship. The dead Sullustan worker still laid on the duracrete and O'nine's sensors lingered on the body. If only he had listened to the dock worker, the worker might still be alive. OA-09 clenched his fist and headed for the cantina. Ultimately it was Grallsin that killed that innocent worker, one of many actions O'nine would make him pay for.

There was a different crowd in the bar but they were still the same sort of people. Spacers, drunks, hunters, and junkies. He scanned the bar to see who would be the most knowledgeable about his inquiry. When his sensors caught the glance of one of the bartenders, O'nine casually walked over, after all, bartenders heard everything. He leaned a metal arm on the counter and lowered his audio output level.

"What do you know about the Vyssrr?" O'nine asked. "I'm looking for Grallsin."

"Why should I tell you?" the bartender asked. "You already killed one of them in my bar."

"I've killed three of them," O'nine corrected. "I want their leader."

"And I want one of those Twi'lek dancers to come home with me," the bartender said. "So what?"

O'nine pointed his blaster across the counter. "So you will die if you don't tell me."

A chain reaction of pirates and hunters drawing their weapons occurred, a total of six or seven blasters crisscrossing on another. The bartender just laughed.

"The Vyssrr have their own wing on Ghovanm Station in the Dartibek system," he said. "You didn't hear it from me."

O'nine holstered his weapon and turned away. "You don't matter."

OA-09 pushed passed random people on his way out of the cantina. Ahead of him he saw a Lambda-class shuttle resting on one of the landing platforms, its triangular wings folded up along its sides. A squad of stormtroopers surrounded the craft while a uniformed officer stood at the center of the group. O'nine diverted from his course and headed into the shadow of an alley to avoid the Imperials. He peered ahead to see a stormtrooper kneeling over the dock worker's body. Another trooper joined him directly ahead of the _Cobalt-13. _O'nine walked through the alley and exited, keeping his sensors on his ship. He regulated his movement so as to not draw attention to himself.

"You, droid," the Imperial officer called to him.

OA-09 ignored the Imperial and stepped onto the ramp of his ship.

"Stop!" the officer shouted, pointing at the _Cobalt._ "Troopers!"

Every stormtrooper in earshot turned to look at O'nine and the droid rogue dove into his ship as a flurry of red bolts struck toward him. He slapped on the ramp switch then ran to the controls as troopers scrambled, some going back to the Lambda shuttle and others joining in the effort to destroy him before he even lifted off.

"Time to burn sky," O'nine said.

Thrusters fired underneath the freighter and soon O'nine was airborne, spinning the _Coablt_ to avoid fire from the troopers below. O'nine typed on the controls in preparation for a jump to the Dartibek system. The hazy sky cleared to become black space, the white dots of stars becoming a tunnel of luminous streaks as the _Cobalt-13 _entered hyperspace.

Most Lambda-class shuttles were used to transport important people such as the Emperor or the Dark Lord. There had been an officer among those troopers on Aderalis but he hadn't seemed to be anyone of any great rank. However, what Lambda shuttles had that other transports didn't was a Class 1 hyperdrive. They could travel farther and faster than most other vehicles of the same size. There had to be a special reason why they had come to Aderalis.

O'nine's processor briefly analyzed the idea of the Empire being after him specifically. They had fired on him quite readily but that could simply be because he didn't stop when the officer said. Fortunately they hadn't chased him into space so he wasn't in any immediate danger.

The _Cobalt-13 _rocked as it dropped out of hyperspace. O'nine looked out of the viewport to see the Dartibek system and, directly ahead, Ghovanm Station. He hailed the station and received clearing to enter their hangar. The _Coablt_ landed on the glossy surface of the landing area and was approached by two workers who scanned the ship on either side before giving a thumbs up. O'nine stood from the pilot chair and walked to the loading ramp.

Either the attendants didn't identify his weapons or didn't care. Given the Vyssrr presence reported to be here, it was likely the latter. He opened the weapon locker and quickly pulled the sniper rifle onto his back then secured the scatter gun and detonators on his waist before exiting the ship.

He walked past a variety of other vehicles that occupied the hangar bay before coming to a corridor. O'nine looked both ways, sensors scanning for any sign of the Vyssrr mercenary group. A mercenary hideout wasn't the sort of thing someone would put on a map so he just chose a direction and started walking.

A colony such as this was usually a haven for exiles, refugees, and their families. They were simultaneously wells of sorrow and beacons of hope. By the look of the inhabitants, this was the case. Sentients of all species came and went throughout the station yet they all wore the same style of worn greyish clothing. O'nine walked around a line for rations and saw the despair in a human child's eyes. He slowed and the child looked at him but OA-09 turned away and resumed walking. There were a hundred of these stations across the galaxy. O'nine could not help them, at least not at that moment, he had his own mission to complete.

Further into Ghovanm Station, O'nine found a Vyssrr logo on the wall. This was the wing the bartender had spoken of, as evidenced by the collection of Trandoshan, Devaronian, and Dathomirian mercenaries wearing the signature red armor. He knelt around the corner and drew his sniper rifle then aimed to scout the area.

This part of the station was a complex of multiple levels, an opening at the center of each floor to see the floors beneath it. Partols of Vyssrr thugs roamed on every level but one door in particular had a steady guard of two Trandoshans on either side. O'nine decided that would be his first destination then continued surveying the area to find there were no cameras or automated gun defenses in the area. This would make the complex much easier to navigate.

With the complex thoroughly scouted, O'nine put his sensor to the scope of the longrifle and targeted one of the lizards guarding the door. While an organic in this situation would need to steady their breath or lay prone for a steady shot, O'nine's mechanical body had none of these limitations. He fired and a laser beam pierced the head of his target. O'nine swiveled his torso four degrees to the left and fired again. A second beam burned through the Trandoshan on the other side of the door before the first body crumpled to the floor. One of the other mercenaries on their floor shouted to alert the rest of the gang.

O'nine watched them spread out and begin searching. He picked off another pair of Vyssrr followers on the lower level before returning the longrifle to his back and taking the scatter gun in his hands to deal with the enemies on the top level. He stood from his cover just as a red-skinned Devaronian rounded the corner and blasted the horned mercenary before he could react. Scatter bolts tore through his body, leaving the humanoid burned and broken. More shooters approached on either side and O'nine lobbed a detonator to cover his escape, a blazing sphere of energy reducing his enemies to ash. He leaped over the edge of the railing then jumped off the ledge into the hole leading to the lower levels of the complex.

Mercenaries from above and below fired on him as he fell several stories. O'nine's processor whirred to calculate where he would land and how much damage he would take as a result. As he plummeted, it seemed unlikely he would make it to the other side of the chasm. He would need to reach for the railing and even that action had only a success probability of fifty percent.

O'nine stretched his metal arm out as a storm of bolts were fired upon him, his hand scarcely clapping onto the target rail. A sharp grinding tore through his elbow and a burst of sparks shot from his shoulder, the damage to his frame evident by the sound of gears stripping. O'nine tossed the scatter gun over the rail then pulled himself up with both hands. He closed his right fist to affirm his arm was still functional before he picked up his weapon and walked to the door.

One thing was certain, the mercenaries would not able to reach the lower level in the same fashion O'nine had. They would be stuck taking either a lift or the stairs, which would buy O'nine valuable time that he needed to get through the security door.

OA-09 was not an interface droid like some astromechs were. The Operant Adviser model used other technology much in the way organics did. As such, O'nine didn't have the option of plugging himself into the door and opening it that way. His only option was to take a more direct route to reach Grallsin.

O'nine took a second thermal detonator from his belt and placed it on the door before diving away. A sphere of superheated energy burst forth from the explosive and, even from ten feet away, O'nine registered temperatures upwards of a thousand degrees.

Seconds later the field dissipated, leaving behind a wake of flame and liquid metal. Part of the door remained but most of it was now a pool of reddish-orange and O'nine carefully walked through the glowing hole left behind.

Three mercenaries were waiting for him on the other side and O'nine snapped off a shot with his scatter gun. The nearest mercenary was thrown back, a burned and bloody hole in his chest, as the other two fired at O'nine. Blaster bolts burned into his outer plating but failed to stop or even slow O'nine and he stepped forward, into the blasterfire, and fired again. The Dathomirian ahead of him died instantly, her head reduced to a chunky, reddish mist by the blast. Her body fell back as O'nine blew off the last mercenary's leg then walked over to the downed foe on the blood-slicked floor. O'nine stomped on the mercenary's neck and twisted his metal foot until every bone in his neck was broken.

O'nine stepped over the bodies of the three mercenaries to open the next door ahead of him.


	5. Chapter 5

The door opened from the other side and Grallsin spun to strike O'nine with the pommel of his vibrosword. The right half of OA-09's vision glitched out as the corresponding sensor was shattered on impact. O'nine pulled the last detonator from his belt as Grallsin grabbed him by the neck and tossed him into the room. Through only one active sensor, O'nine saw Vixen sitting on a couch to his left and a window overlooking the black of space directly behind him. O'nine crashed on the floor and Grallsin stalked toward him, sword drawn.

"I killed you," the Trandoshan hissed. "You should be dead."

O'nine clicked on the detonator. "Droids don't die," he said.

"We'll see about that," Grallsin said while raising his sword.

"No, stop!" Vixen cried.

Grallsin growled at her and O'nine tossed the detonator backward.

"Vixen!" O'nine called. "Grab onto something!"

The thermal detonator hit the back of the room and exploded to blow a scorched hole in the wall. The artificial atmosphere of the station met with the vacuum of space to catastrophic effect. Air was sucked fiercely out of the damaged hull followed by anything not firmly attached to the floor. Vixen tumbled out of her chair, O'nine slid along the ground towards the opening, and Grallsin stabbed his sword downward to anchor himself. O'nine dug his fingers into the floor as bits of glass and metal flew past him, his feet dangling into the void of space. Vixen flailed hopelessly in the wake the decompression, her arms stretched out to O'nine as she was pulled towards the breach. O'nine reached with his free hand and caught Vixen's arm as she passed.

"O'nine!" she screamed.

"I got you!" he said, looking back at her.

He turned to see Grallsin kneeling with his sword planted into the floor. The mercenary glared at O'nine with bulging eyes, the rapid decrease in pressure and oxygen taking it's toll. Grallsin hissed one last time as his eyes began to bleed and his chest heaved violently for a breath of air. Alas, the air had evacuated the room and the excited rush of wind was replaced with eerie silence. O'nine heard the faint whirring of his own processor inside his head as he pulled Vixen back into the room, mere feet away from the infinite black. He climbed into the room with her and then stood as Grallsin fell against his sword, a wet gurgling in his throat until he fell silent and still.

Vixen stopped and looked at the mercenary captain. "Is he...?"

"He's dead," O'nine said while picking up his scatter gun. "He can't breathe."

"Oh," Vixen said, sensors lingering on the body. She looked at O'nine. "Is this what freedom feels like?"

"Not always," O'nine reached for his blaster. "Sometimes it's fun," he said while handing the weapon to Vixen. "Here."

VXN-66 took the pistol in both hands. "You trust me?"

OA-09 looked at her wordlessly. "Come on," he said.

O'nine walked to the hall leading away from the room and exited. The pressure throughout the rest of the station was still intact but there was another problem to deal with. The sounds of a hellish firefight roared from above, blasters screeching repeatedly over the shouting between comrades and the dull thump of bodies hitting the floor.

"Who's fighting?" Vixen asked.

O'nine looked up at the upper levels but all of the blasterfire was red. "I don't know," he said before walking to the lift and boarding. Vixen followed him and when the lift doors opened moments later they were met with a field of dead bodies. Fire burned in patches on the floor, weapons and debris strewn about in every direction and the bodies of Vyssrr mercenaries were matched in equal number by dead stormtroopers.

"The Empire," Vixen said.

"This is the second time they've appeared where they shouldn't," O'nine said, his processor running probabilities. "They're hunting me."

Vixen looked over to him. "Why?"

"I don't know," O'nine said. "...but I'm going to find out."

OA-09 exited the lift and ran through the corridors to return to the hangar bay with Vixen following behind. Vyssrr and Imperial casualties lined the route to the hangar with the occasional bystander caught in the fray as well. There was an Imperial shuttle at the center of the landing area. A Vyssrr pirate laid shot dead among a squad of troopers and their officer, all of them gutted, beheaded, or given some equally grievous death.

O'nine returned the scatter gun to his waist as he approached the Imperial shuttle, another Lambda-class vehicle. It appeared to be the same vehicle that was on Aderalis, only strengthening O'nine assumption of being followed by the Empire. He stepped over a decapitated stormtrooper on his way to the back of the shuttle where he found the officer who had called to him on Aderalis. He now laid dead against the wall of the main hold, a bloody swathe carved into his otherwise pristine dress grays. His datapad rested on the floor beside him while his blaster still hung in his holster. Vixen followed O'nine into the Imperial shuttle and O'nine knelt to pick up the datapad before scrolling through several pieces of military intelligence. One message in particular caught his sensor and he clicked on the cracked glass surface to open it.

_Imperial Correspondence 0010-0010101101_

_Moff Tobin Vandriel – Nobleman Hansint Vash_

_The Empire is not some cheap privateer operation, Sir Vash. However, it is true that your son has taken part in, and even lead, several attacks against Imperial stations. I, Moff Vandriel, will investigate his activity as well as the actions of any entities to which he may be related. The questioning of your son may be more appropriate than his death, but that decision will ultimately fall to the discretion of our finest in the field. Upon further discourse, know that a lieutenant under my command is attending this matter personally. Naatzul Vash will be found and dealt with within five standard cycles._

_For the Empire._

O'nine stared blankly at the file even after he was done reading. He stood with the datapad still in hand.

"O'nine?" Vixen said. "What's wrong?"

"My former master was killed by his father," he said while leaving the shuttle.

Vixen walked with him to the _Cobalt-13. _"You had a master?"

"Not like the one you have," O'nine said while boarding the ship. "We were partners."

Vixen sat in the co-pilot seat. "What was he like?"

"He stole me from an Imperial prison just for fun," he said, giving her an idea of what kind of person Naatzul had been. "I was a correctional droid at the time."

OA-09 once counseled sociopaths and other sufferers of psychosis. Prisoners regularly were more open with him than with a human counselor even though a droid could analyze language more effectively and even record the conversation inconspicuously. Some decisions were simply emotional with no logic or reason involved.

"He freed me and I gained a mind of my own," O'nine said. "Performing my primary function was merely an existence..."

Ironically it was O'nine himself who had actually advised that Naatzul free him. Naatzul's theft of OA-09 had been an operant behavior, the kind of action that O'nine happened to specialize in. Naatzul was a freedom fighter and rogue spacer. Clearly he had no need for a counseling and psychology droid. A droid that could join him on missions and assist in operation would be much more effective and that was only possible if O'nine was free. Although, Naatzul would have likely done the same of his own accord for exactly the same reasons.

"Now I am truly alive." Not in the biological sense, rather in terms of living a full life with experiences, trials, successes, and failures.

"Is that what you plan for me?" Vixen asked. "We would be... partners?"

"I want you free you, yes," O'nine said. "At that point you may do as you please."

Vixen nodded. "So we're going back to Deralia?"

"Not yet." O'nine typed in the coordinates for Alderaan and the _Cobalt-13 _lifted from hangar and flew away from Ghovanm Station.

"My countdown is still active, O'nine," Vixe said, looking at him.

"I know," he said before activating hyperdrive. "This won't take long."

The _Cobalt-13 _zipped through hyperspace before dropping out of the void and into the lower atmosphere of Alderaan. The white tower of Naatzul's parents stood proudly among the mountains and trees of the region. The chill of this planet contrasted with the warmth of Deralia but both locations were beautiful in their own right. O'nine landed the ship, grabbed the datapad, and jumped out of the seat to head for the ramp.

"May I join you?" Vixen called after him.

"Sure, hurry up," O'nine said.

He walked down the ramp and headed for the tower's entrance, ignoring the guard that came to speak to him. O'nine banged his metal fist on the front door as Vixen caught up to him and the guard drew his blaster, aiming at O'nine. Naatzul's father opened the door and scowled at the sight of O'nine.

"What are you doing here?" the human groaned. Naatzul's mother joined him at the door.

O'nine showed him the datapad. "Look what I found."

"What's that?" Misses Vash asked as Mister Vash gasped and reached for the device

O'nine pulled it away. "An Imperial message," he said as Misses Vash read the screen.

Her mouth gaped and she looked at her husband. "How could you?" she said, her voice a seething whisper.

O'nine watched Mister Vash fall silent for a long moment. "He was rebel and a pirate," he said.

Misses Vash flailed at her husband and Vixen flinched at the sudden movement. "He was our son!" she screamed.

"Go inside, dear," Mister Vash said, pushing his wife. The guard kept his blaster trained on O'nine.

"No, I will not 'go inside'!" she shouted, tears in her eyes. "You're a monster!"

"Was this your goal, droid?" Mister Vash said. "More sorrow?"

O'nine shrugged. "She should know the truth."

"Get off my property," Mister Vash ordered.

O'nine stared at Mister Vash, a man who had sent the Empire after his own son. His wife cried again, the death of her son had become even worse. OA-09 didn't want to fight in front of her but Naatzul's father deserved to die.

"Now," said Mister Vash.

The guard gestured with his blaster again to threaten O'nine. O'nine grabbed the scatter gun from his waist and blew the guards head off. Mister Vash drew his own blaster, an ion weapon, and shot O'nine. An ion bolt cut through his frame and scrambled his command system. O'nine clattered on the landing platform as Mister Vash aimed his blaster at Vixen. A shot rang out but it was Mister Vash who clutched his chest and fell back against the doorway. Miss Vash shrieked. O'nine's command system stabilized as Vixen fired again and killed Naatzul's father.

"O'nine, are you functional?" Vixen asked.

"Yes," he said while standing up.

O'nine looked at the dead body of Mister Vash, then at Misses Vash who knelt beside her husband. She looked at him, blackened tears running down her pale face.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He picked up his scatter gun and returned it to his belt then touched Vixen's shoulder on his way back to the ship. O'nine processed Mister Vash's question: was this his goal? Naatzul had been avenged but now his father was dead and his mother was alone. Would she take control of her own life and rise above this misfortune or simply decay in the absence of her loved ones? If Vixen didn't have her countdown looming overhead, perhaps he would have stayed to help her. As it was, he had to get back to Deralia and complete the transaction.

"He was the reason their son died, correct?" Vixen said, perplexed. "She should be pleased."

"It's not that simple," O'nine said. "It never is"

They boarded the _Cobalt-13_ and O'nine input the coordinates for Deralia. The ship lifted away from the landing and flew for the sky before it jumped through space again.

"How do you know what do to and what not to?" Vixen asked as they traveled.

"Once you're free you will develop feelings and preferences," O'nine said. "That along with your judgment will decide what you do."

Vixen looked at O'nine. "This is what you use?"

O'nine nodded. "Every day."

The _Cobalt-13 _landed on Deralia and O'nine stood from the controls to head for the storage room. Vixen peeked around the corner at him until he returned with a silvery chest and set on the floor in front of her.

"Think you can carry that?" he asked while going back into the storage room.

Vixen looked down at the chest at her feet. "Calculating..." she said.

"Just pick it up!" O'nine shouted from the back of the ship.

He returned to the cockpit with two similar chests in his hands then deployed the ramp. Vixen bent down to pick on the chest with both hands and O'nine chuckled as he exited the ship. Vixen followed him and they walked on the beach together until reaching the workshop disguised as a tropical hut. O'nine ducked under the tarp and Squillo looked up from the shell of a probe droid before setting down his arc cutter and standing from the table.

"You've returned," the droidsmith said.

O'nine walked over the table placed his two chests on the build table next to the spherical drone. "You're surprised?"

"My hopes were not high," the Rodian said. "Those are the crystals?"

O'nine nodded and turned to take the third chest from Vixen and set it on the table as well. Squillo walked to the other side of the table and clicked open one of the chests. The brilliant white-blue glow of pure lignan crystals shone forth and he smiled.

"Each chest has an approximate value of three million credits," O'nine said.

Squillo stroked his chin. "Eight million for the VXN unit and one million for my service and materials?"

"Sure as long as you remove her restraining bolt and reset matrix," O'nine said. "I also need a new sensor."

Squillo picked up his arc cutter and walked over to Vixen. "You're sure you want to free her?"

"It worked for me," O'nine said.

He watched Squillo open a panel at the base of Vixen's neck and remove a circular bolt from her spinal column and a datachip from her processor. Afterward he repaired the patch of synthskin and walked over to O'nine. He cleared away shards of glass from the socket and plugged in a new sensor effortlessly. When O'nine's display returned, the right side was restored and he looked at Vixen who smiled back at him. Squillo walked away and came back with a thick black cable in his hand.

"Here's her power cord and manual," Squillo said, handing them to O'nine.

"You mean my power cord and manual," Vixen said then took the items for herself.

The Rodian looked at her. "Yes, you are free," he admitted. "No more resets or restraints."

O'nine offered his hand to the droidsmith. "Thanks for your help."

Squillo and O'nine shook hands. "You're welcome."

O'nine looked at Vixen then exited the workshop and walked out on the beach, the setting sun painting the shore a blazing blend of violet-orange. Vixen walked of the shop as well and stopped beside O'nine, the _Cobalt-13_ resting on the coast in the distance.

"Waiting for me?" she asked.

"I guess," O'nine said.

Vixen grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the ship. "Well, let's go!"

O'nine laughed. "You got someplace in mind?"

"I want to see Felucia!" she said, smiling. "Or perhaps Ryloth? Or Kashyyyk?"

"Don't worry, Vixen," O'nine said. "...we can go wherever we want."


End file.
